Camping- it's in tents!

[Puddleglum]

Starting to approach that time of year when people enjoy getting out, and sleeping in some flimsy canvas, or nylon shelter, after being bitten by mosquitose, ticks, and an occasional wild fur bearing creature, (thus learning that they should not try to feed by hand).
Anyway. I myself will be joining some fellow rendezvous enthusiasts in a little over a month for some outdoor carrying on, and generally enjoying God's creation.
So. Is there anyone else planning on any great excursions this season?

Disclaimer. Given the current weather, no I do not plan on sleeping in an igloo

[stargazer]

There'll probably still be snow on the ground, Puddleglum.

Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27 this year) usually marks my first camping trip of the season (due to weather and allergy considerations) - as opposed to autumn trips which can extend into late October if the weather holds. Our trip this year will be to Sibley State Park in west-central Minnesota.

[IloveFauns]

camping is defiantly not my thing. Maybe on a hot night(sometime in the australian summer) it would be alright but it doesn't really appeal to me.

[coracle]

I enjoy camping, especially when I don't have to do all the work. I have two tents, a basic A-frame and a little square one which needs a replacement pole so I can use it again.

My last experience of camping was a quick and easy getaway, the day after Christmas, and 3 days after the third lot of wet silt (liquefaction) covered my garden following a round of earthquakes on 23 Dec 2011.
My friend and I went up to a lovely camping ground near a river, in the foothills of the mountains, and we relaxed. It was great!

[Puddleglum]

Ilovefauns. Truly you are missing a grand adventure. Or at least a chance at one. If ever the urge hits you I would say go with it.
Earthquake? I can definetly say I have never gone out after one of those coracle. Though there have been many a wet campsite I have had to set up in.
I more than once having to break camp due to weather. once having a tree branch come down just between the van, and the tent.
Then there was the neighboring site that had just moved their truck, only to have a tree collapse onto the very spot where it had been parked.

Anyone else have close calls?

[stargazer]

Mountain camping, Auntie? Sounds wonderful. Some of my favorite trips have been to mountains. Especially the Tetons, when our campsite overlooked Jackson Lake and we could see Mount Moran out the window...

Speaking of close calls and falling trees, the closest one I've had is a giant oak tree that fell onto my car one evening back in the mid-90s, crushing it quite effectively. The irony is that this happened on the residential streets of Minneapolis rather than in a campground. It also damaged a city bus, so it happens that my crushed car made the news (a brief blurb during the weather segment) - though I didn't know this until my insurance agent commented, "Oh, that's the car I saw on the news!"

So now, when I'm occasionally asked if I'm worried about trees falling on me while camping I just say, "Not really; I go to Minneapolis for that." *rimshot*

Seriously, however, we've been caught in some pretty spectacular storms in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The soil is so shallow there, and the ground so rocky, that trees have shallow roots and often can blow down.

However, we missed the legendary 1999 derecho which leveled millions of trees over 370,000 acres of land. We weren't far away, however - near the North Shore of Lake Superior, so the storm passed fairly close by and we had lots of flooding as all that water had to go somewhere.

Now close calls with humans - I could tell you stories. Like the guys who had had a little too much to drink and were exploding those portable propane tanks in their fire. Yikes!

[Puddleglum]

Looking at taking off for a day-camp with the Scouts tomorrow. Just a few hours of teaching boys how to start fire. No worries, parents will be present, with a bucket of water.
I am hoping the weather isn't too windy. Even with the rain it looks a bit dry in some places.
If all goes well I hope they get a good lesson on the different methods they can use. I will be starting with modern lighters, and matches. I plan on finishing with a bow, but I honestly have yet to succeed with this method.
The goal of course is so that if they ever have an emergency where they need fire they can make one with what they have on hand.

[Puddleglum]

Got back early from rendezvous on Sat. Mostly due to weather. Rain, and thunder on Friday night, and it took forever to dry out during the day. Unfortunatly it looked like more that night. It also appeared that there was less than an interest in having a service Sunday morning. I was borrowing a tent from the fellow running the event, and my staying meant it was going to get wet again, so I decided to to pack up, and take down rather than leave Sunday, and stick him with take down.
Pretty good bunch attending, especially for the host's retirment party. He's offical this week, and looks forward to spending more time doing things around his place. He's one of the few truly independent folks around, no electricity, or running water, and he actually sleeps in one of his tents during the summer.
Got plenty of practice in with cordage making, and mixed in a little witnessing with it. Was young fellow who has an interest in norse mythology how to twist basswood bark, and did a little talking about the Gospel. He was suprised I was a Christian, apparently other experiances were less than good. He in turn suprised me by being one of the few open minded people I've met who actually was. He plans on being at another encampment in August. Perhaps more opporunities will arise.

[johobbit]

Even though I rarely post in here, I really like keeping up with all who do. I have done a fair bit of camping in my life, 'though much more in my teen years and early 20s. I treasure being out in nature, but in my middling years now, have found a bed indoors almost a necessity at night, sadly. I'm an extremely light sleeper (you'd be amazed at the slightest noises that wake me up), so while I still love going for daytime hikes in the woodlands and hills, I find it tricky to sleep outside. Maybe in the New Earth I will be able to enjoy that once again.

coracle, camping in the foothills of mountains sounds amazing!

Puddleglum, how special about your conversation with that young fellow this past weekend. Being in nature seems to induce more transparency and sharing, I find. I enjoy reading about your Scouts camping adventures.

stargazer, enjoy your first camping weekend of this season this coming weekend! I hope the weather is suitable for y'all.

My family loves camping and my husband takes the kids and friends/relatives on roughing-it camping/canoe trips out in the wilderness yearly. They sometimes set up camp in one spot and do canoe day trips out from there; other years they have canoed each day to a new location. Great memories for them all! And they try to go in mid-late August when the mosquitoes are not nearly so bad, as the nights begin to cool down again. They are still in the middle of deciding what to do this year, because as the kids get older, jobs to get them through university take precedence. Still, they hope to get away for a few days in August.

[stargazer]

I hear ya, jo. Not sure how much longer I'll be able to sleep on the ground in my tent. Especially after the first night of a trip, I tend to wake up just a wee bit stiff.

Right now the weather is awesome - about 65F and crystal clear. I plan on seeing some planets tonight, but that's a topic for another thread. The weather for this long upcoming weekend looks sketchy, especially on Monday when there may be some thunderstorms. It seems the farther north one goes, the drier the weather may be, as our prospects in west-central Minnesota are better than they are for southern Minnesota.

[Puddleglum]

Getting that time again for my donning the old timers outfit, and attending some rendezvous. Went to one on a day visit last weekend, and did a little trade, and spent more than I intended.
Also looked at some tents. I'm determined to get my own by next spring. The tough parts are getting the money together, (a good era tent can run from $300 to a couple thousand). Then there's getting the right kind, do I want a Wall, Bell-A, or a Baker's? Trying to find the one to suit my needs, and wallet is a challenge.
But anyway, I'm getting wound up. I have a friend who had some basswood blow down the last storm, so I should have plenty of material for cordage demos. If anyone cares to see some old style camping, or some blacksmithing, corn bread making, and maybe me tying my fingers into knots, come join us at Clearwater on August 2nd to the 4th. We will be at the park north of Cobern's.

[Puddleglum]

Back from camping at Kathio State Park with one of the siblings. Other than the rain, it was a pretty good few days. Mosquitos were suprisingly well behaved, even though they were definitly in attendence.
Fishing was dissapointing, with only one to really show for the effort. Let the poor fellow go. I guess it goes to prove the old adage about "wind from the North, don't venture forth."
Now the fun begins of cleaning, and repacking for next weekend at Clearwater. From what I hear, the weather forcast says fair. We can trust that right

[stargazer]

I quite enjoy camping at Kathio, Puddleglum. Occasionally Mike Lynch (local radio meteorologist and astronomer) has his Labor Day weekend astronomy program there (in the interpretive center parking lot near the campground), and we've seen the ISS, Mars near opposition, and Northern Lights (not to mention the occasional glimpse of big fat porcupines resting in the trees during our day hikes). Fun times!

The weekend after next is our annual trip to Baker Park Reserve just west of the Twin Cities (a conveniently close location in case the weather really turns sour or there's some other reason to leave early). This is usually quite a large group, including Ryadian's family and other friends.

Then, just a couple weeks later is our Labor Day weekend trip to Glendalough State Park in northwest Minnesota. It's a cart-in campground with lots of trees - which is nice except it hampers the stargazing a bit.

[Puddleglum]

I shall have to keep an eye out for the astronomy program stargazer. Sounds interesting.
I hope to be up on the North Shore in a couple weeks with the Mrs. We planneded to hotel it this year, but we found it would cost not half as much to camp. Now if only the weather cooperated we might get in a little stargazing ourselves.
Just a reminder that the Wapati Historical Rendezvous is in Sept. 20th, to the 22nd near Elk River. I believe you expressed interest in that last year.

[Puddleglum]

Almost finished re-packing the rendezvous gear from Clearwater, and prepping for Wapiti.
Just got done stripping bark from some Basswood branches for making cordage. Hope to have plenty of youngsters trying their hands at making string this year. A friend of mine is bringing a homemade hibachi this time. He claims that George Washington had one to do all his cooking done in while out in the field. would make an interesting historical reference.

[stargazer]

Thanks for the Rendezvous reminder, Puddleglum. Perhaps my schedule will permit me to attend this year.

This past weekend had generally awesome camping weather for our trip to Baker; the only improvement might have been clear skies at night for meteor viewing. But the days were dry (despite rain forecasts for early Sunday morning) and pretty comfortable. Some mosquitoes were around, but nothing like their legendary presence this past June.

Two new recipes were tried, thanks to suggestions one of our party members found on Pinterest: cinnamon rolls baked over the embers (it's easy to use the ones that come in a can. Cut an orange in half and remove the fruit so you're left with the peeling; place a roll in that half-orange, wrap in foil and place in embers.
Another dessert variation was camper cones: fill waffle cones with your choice of treats, such as miniature marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanut butter, banana slices, etc, then wrap in foil and heat in the embers until the contents are nice and melted. Note that the cones are easily crushed when wrapping or unwrapping.